Flavorful Ways to Drink More Water

Summer in Wilmington is definitely here in full gear. This time of year is so important to increase our water intake as we partake in activities outside such as swimming, sun bathing, athletics, running, biking etc. The more often we are sweating, the more water we need to be replenishing with. Dehydration combined with heat can be a very scary thing, and it definitely affects our athletic performance. If you're like me however, you struggle to get water down throughout the day, leading up to outdoor events. It's hard to drink up when you're not feeling thirsty.

With all the running, biking, and other various workouts I'm doing in combination with some gorgeously HOT weather, I am very much into any techniques of getting a constant supply of water into my body. I wasn't great at this before I started all this cardio, but now more than ever, I have to take it very seriously. 

Unless I'm really to the point of true thirst, I don't enjoy drinking plain ol' water just to drink it. If you've been reading my posts as of late, you know I love me some Nuun tabs. Here's some other ways I have been adding a bit of flavor to my water to make it easier to gulp it down.

Nuun Tabs- Come in a wide variety of flavors, and are easily stored in these super great containers that you can throw in your purse or gym bag (or both!) I buy them in bulk on Amazon, and then I store them everywhere- office, car, home, and every bag I use. They are flavorful and fizzy and have no sugar. Their sweetness comes from an all natural sweetener- the stevia plant.

Crystal Light packets- you can get 44 of these guys at Costco for less than $5.50 and it comes with five different flavors. Score! I love the strawberry energy flavor because it has a little caffeine in it for an extra boost!

Fruit Infused Water- I'm obsessed! I got my hair cut on Monday and when they offered me some cucumber flavored water, I had no idea I would quickly be addicted to this refreshing, low calorie, flavored water. You can create your own infused water quickly and easily at home. Choose your fruit and/or veggies, throw in a pitcher or a glass (more or less for taste depending on what you prefer) and there ya go! Easy peasy and super delicious. Plus, you get some extra nutrients from the fruit and veggies at a very low calorie cost.

Cucumber/Lemon/Lime
Today, I brought a regular old mason jar with me to work with a half of a lime, cut up, 1/4 of a lemon and a few slices of cucumber thrown in. I didn't squeeze any of the juice out of these guys, I just threw them in there because that way, I can drink from this all day and just keep refilling the water and still get some flavor! If you wanted a lot more flavor, you could squeeze all the juice in.

Other fruit addition ideas...

Lime/Blackberry
Strawberry/Lime/Mint
Jalapeno/Lime/Lemon- Sounds crazy, but my hair tech insisted it was awesome!
Jalapeno/Cucumber
Cantaloupe/Grape
Pineapple/Cherry/Granny Smith Apple
Crushed Vanilla Beans/Peach
Honeydew Melon/Lime
Cherry/Lemon/Vanilla Beans
Sliced Pears/Ginger
Strawberry/Kiwi/Cucumber
Orange/Lemon/Lime

I'm planning on making this a staple in my diet this summer and enjoying a bunch of these flavors! I will let you know how they turn out as I try them!

How about you? Do you make your own fruit-flavored water? What are some combinations you enjoy?